Mother Dearest
by Lady Cougar-Trombone
Summary: The Lab Rats had a mother once, just like any other kid their age. They don't remember her and have never thought to question what their origins were or why Davenport was the only parental figure. Until now. Now the truth of who they were begin to unveil themselves...but the truth is not always liberating or kind to its recipients.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I know I probably shouldn't have started another story with the one I have not close to done, but I couldn't resist. I think the idea for this is pretty good, and I want to share this. I struggled to get good length on this prologue, but I got there, eventually, with the help of the author's note…but it's the prologue…So, here's the first chapter of Mother Dearest!**

"Ugh…," a boy moaned, moving one of his hands towards the closed door. The hand weakly fell into the red pool of blood that surrounded his curled up form. It was sticky, and he could feel it through his clothes. That meant he had been lying here for some time, but the boy had hardly noticed the time pass. The boy gritted his teeth and attempted to roll onto his stomach, but he nearly screamed out from the pain. Beneath the blood soaking his arms, he saw that the bruises were already becoming black and purple.

_Someone save me…please…_, the boy begged in his mind, too weak to speak. Fresh blood pooled above his eyes and that's when he heard the footsteps. His whole body tensed up as the footsteps pounded louder and closer. He could hear them coming up the stairs…

_Not again! No! Spare me, please!_ The boy tried harder to get up, pushing himself into a near push-up position, but his arms gave out and his chin slammed into the floor. He heard a crunch, but his tongue seemed to have made it out alright. He tasted blood as the door flew open. He tried harder to get up, but the man who had entered charged at him and pulled the boy up by the shirt collar. His whole body lifted from the floor as the man stood up to his full height and the boy's toes barely scraped the ground.

The boy began coughing as he choked from the man's grip on his shirt and the man's face contorted further in anger. A woman walked up and stopped at the doorway. She didn't move after placing a hand on the doorway and looking towards the two as the man held onto the boy. The boy turned his gaze at her, looking away from the man grasping him.

"Mother!" the boy cried out as the man's hand slipped and the chokehold lessened.

"There's nothing anyone can do you little-"

"Mother! Please, help me!" the boy cried, tears pooling in his eyes as the woman continued to stand there and just watch. The boy was released, but was punched in the jaw before he fell to the ground. He slammed, hard, to the floor and another moan escaped his lips.

"You brought this on yourself boy," the man said, kicking at the boy and knocking him into the wall. The boy whined, wishing it would stop. He had already had a beating, why was there another one so soon? The man began pounding his fists into the boy's flesh, and blood began to flow from old and new wounds and the boy's cries became fainter and fainter until it was hardly more than exhausted breathing. The boy was unaware of the time passing. It could have been a few minutes or several hours for all he knew. The only thing he knew was the pain and the terror of the beating.

The boy's face was soaked with his tears and blood, his hair stuck to his forehead. The man lifted the boy so that their noses were touching. The man grinned at him and the boy trembled under his gaze. This man inspired fear, and he _enjoyed_ it. The boy felt spasms of pain as he shook, but he didn't stop, not while the man kept staring at him.

"Say goodbye to mummy," the man taunted, turning his head so the boy could wearily look at his mother. The man was clearly dismissing her as he shot the woman a glare, but the boy gave one last pleading look to his mother.

"Help me…," he groaned one last time before the woman turned and began walking away. The tears came harder as the boy saw someone watching from down the hall. It was another boy who just looked at him with cold eyes, a monster in the making. The boy hated the one who could hide from the man, the one who didn't incur such wrath upon himself. The boy gritted his teeth, even as he winced in pain from the action.

_There's no one to help me…I'm going to die here…_ The boy closed his eyes as the man's fist came back around and slammed into his head. He cried out and felt himself slide across the floor, away from the man. He felt himself stop as he bumped into the wall, and felt his pain begin anew from the slide burns. He whimpered, but managed to open his eyes and look towards the man who tormented his every waking moment.

"What did I ever do father?" the boy moaned, and not for the first time since the beatings had started.

_Why haven't they come for me…Is this my fate now, to die here at the mercy of this horrible excuse for a human being?_ The boy lamented to himself as he wearily watched the man, waiting for the answer that always came. Coherent thought began to ebb away with that final thought as the man opened his mouth once more to speak.

"You existed, that's reason enough," the man replied through gnashed teeth. The boy observed, almost as if the whole thing wasn't real, through his now blurred vision as his father strode towards him, leaned over him, and heaved one last fist at his face. The boy didn't have time to cry out as the fist connected with his face and he fell unconscious with that final blow.

**A/N: Just a reminder to those who might plan to at the beginning but forget by this point…Review to let me know what you think, please! Oh, and do let me know if you see mistakes, because I'll go back and fix them! Oh, and in case I forget to mention it in later chapters, this is AU...completely and utterly...pretty much...sort of...It's AU and I feel you need to know that...So have a nice day!**


	2. The Discovery of the Laptop

**A/N: Someone asked what an AU was, so I'll answer it here. AU means Alternate Universe, which is basically something different than what happens in canon (which…well, I'll just assume you know what that is). I would answer before I uploaded this chapter, but I don't really have anyway of contacting you. But, here's the next chapter of **_**Mother Dearest**_**, and then I'll get back to work on Mind Blown!**

Mr. Davenport drummed his fingers on his desk as he waited for the teens to get back from school. Sometimes he wished one of them had a teleporting power, but then they would abuse it, so it really wasn't worth it. He shook his head and continued to wait. He heard something begin to move and looked toward the elevator, and confirming it was indeed the elevator descending, he straightened up and waited for the doors to open. He was not disappointed when he saw who was inside.

Chase stepped out first and raised an eyebrow at Davenport and was soon joined by his siblings Bree and Adam. Davenport stood up and walked towards them.

"I know it hasn't been that long since I sent you up into space, but this is important," Davenport said. Chase crossed his arms and Bree asked the question.

"And what is 'it' exactly?" she asked, annoyed that she had a mission so soon. Adam opened his mouth to speak, but Davenport spoke first.

"My warehouse, the one where I keep my explosives mind you, has been infiltrated, and I need the three of you to investigate who has done it and if they've taken anything."

"Right," Chase said as the three went to their pods and then cockily added, "We'll be back before dinner."

Bree groaned and looked at the ceiling of her tube. Davenport shook his head, but activated the clothing mechanism of the tubes. Chase grinned as the tubes lit up and Adam stepped out first with his suit on backwards.

"Oops," he said, hoping back in. The lights went off and all three exited.

"I've downloaded the coordinates into your brain," Davenport said to Bree, and she turned up her nose at the idea of having things _downloaded_ into her like a computer, "And now the three of you are set to go." Chase picked up the mission bag and he and Bree went left the lab.

"Bye Mr. Davenport!" Adam waved, following his brother and sister as they quickly departed. Davenport waved back, grinning a little at Adam.

* * *

Once they made it to the warehouse, it wasn't hard to break in. This set off alarm bells for Chase, but he didn't say anything, waiting to see what his next move should be. The warehouse was lit, but eerily quiet.

"Adam, Bree, you two scout the whole warehouse…or at least where the explosives are and anywhere someone might hide," Chase said, gesturing to where they could start, "and I'll go inside the security room and see what I can find in there." Bree nodded and dragged Adam after her as they sped off to the far side of the warehouse. Chase scowled a bit, thinking Bree might blow their cover, but he made his way into the nearby security room.

The door was unlocked, but when he stepped inside, nobody was there. The screens flickered and showed signs that someone had tampered with them, but there was no one or any means of their escape inside the room.

_How odd…,_ Chase thought as he scanned the room, confirming that there were no people as he picked up no heat signatures from anything large enough to be a person. _How very odd…_

Chase started as his ears finally picked up a humming noise and turned his head quickly towards the source of it.

A laptop, which was still on, was sitting on the desk that had the controls for the security cameras. Chase went up to it, set the mission bag down, and investigated it, finding nothing out of the ordinary. He summoned the flash drive that was in his finger, when he heard Adam shouting.

"We can't find anyone Chase-y! And I wanna play with the fireworks!"

"Adam, these are _not_ fireworks!" Bree shouted back. Chase sighed and closed the laptop, placing it in the bag and taking hold of the bag.

"Don't touch anything!" Chase shouted as he ran out to join them, "We're leaving!" Bree looked up from trying to pull Adam away from a particularly large crate of experimental explosives that _did _look oddly like fireworks.

"Already?" Bree asked as she looked up to Chase as he joined them.

"I found nothing, and according to Adam, neither did you," Chase remarked, raising a brow at her and wondering why she would question him.

"And we found nothing out of place…yes, I did check inventory," Bree said, holding up a hand to stem Chase's remark. He closed his mouth and scowled, but began to ponder on the information.

"So why bother to break in…No matter, we should head back," Chase said. Adam grinned and led the way out, abandoning his need to play with the explosives. Bree and Chase came next, and Chase didn't mention _what_ he had found, he would do that when there was time to examine it.

* * *

Chase stepped into the lab and Davenport immediately strode over to them.

"Alright, get into your pods, it's important," Davenport said, clapping his hands together. Chase raised a brow, but began to make his way over there, setting down the bag. He was about to speak when Davenport hurried them to their pods.

"Did we do something wrong?" Adam asked.

"What's so important about our pods right now, other than changing out of _this_," Bree said, gesturing to her mission suit as the three entered their pods.

"There's a guest and the three of you need to look nice," Davenport said, looking down as he began to fiddle with the controls for the pods.

"And we usually don't look nice?" Chase cheekily asked with a grin. Davenport sent him a sour look, but didn't comment on it.

"Boys…," Bree muttered, tossing her hair in annoyance as the lights filled the pods. Once the lights ended, the three stepped out. Chase looked down and saw he was in a tuxedo.

"It's tight…," Adam whined and Chase looked over and saw Adam was also wearing a tuxedo.

"Come on you three, Leo and Tasha are waiting," Davenport said, wearing a more simplistic business suit.

_How did I not notice that before?_ Chase thought as the three followed their father.

"You trust Leo with this mystery guest?" Bree asked, voicing the others' opinions. Davenport opened his mouth to speak, but then they stepped into the elevator and he changed his mind.

Once they made it to the combination room, they saw Leo sprawled out on the couch (though he was in a slightly wrinkled suit) and Tasha was scolding him while wearing a blue dress.

"You look perfect!" Davenport complimented, going to hug Tasha. Tasha smiled and accepted the hug.

"I thought she looked more like-"Eddy began, but Davenport turned off his screen.

"Thanks Donald," Tasha said, patting her husband's arm.

"So can we go-Whoa!" Leo exclaimed, looking at Bree as if she were a foreign alien.

"Shut up Leo…," Bree said, crossing her arms and turning red.

"It's just unusual to see you that dressed up," Chase said, "To be fair to Leo." Bree was in a knee-length black dress of a _far_ better quality than the dress she wore to the dance.

"We need to head off now, we're meeting him at this _really_ _nice_," Davenport gave all of the teens a pointed look, "restaurant, so I need you to be on your best behavior."

"If we're meeting this person somewhere, doesn't that defeat the purpose of calling him a guest?" Chase asked superiorly.

"Shut up Chase," Davenport crossly said, "and go to the car." Chase went out the door and overheard Davenport pull Adam aside.

"Now Adam, I need you to act smarter and keep your…stupidity on the down low," Davenport said.

"How do you get stupid on the dance floor?" Adam asked, misunderstanding what Davenport was trying to get across.

"Just don't talk," Davenport said. Chase rolled his eyes. _How typical Adam, always saying the stupid remarks._

Chase climbed into the backseat, pressing himself next to Leo when Adam nearly sat on him. Chase glared at Adam and Leo glared at Chase. Bree, who was sitting on the far end, shoved Leo off of her, causing all three boys to lean sideways.

"Ow…," Adam complained, rubbing his head after hitting the car door.

"Then stay off," Bree sourly said, crossing her arms.

"Be quiet, we need to be on our very best behavior," Tasha scolded, hushing them as Davenport got into the driver's seat and drove off.

* * *

The waitress led the four to a table and Chase saw a man already sitting there. The man stood up and offered a tight smile.

"Family, this is Dr. Ryan, our guest," Davenport said, shoulders tensed as he introduced them.

"Pleasure," Dr. Ryan said, "Tasha, yes?" He turned his attention to Tasha, who blushed and gave an answer of affirmation. Davenport scowled, but then introduced the teens. Dr. Ryan barely gives the four a glance as he and Davenport start talking in low whispers and both sit at the table.

Chase notices how tight and restrained Dr. Ryan holds himself, as if fighting off the urge to fight with Davenport. He quirked a brow at that, and then Tasha leans towards him.

"What happened?" Tasha whispered. Chase shrugged.

"I have no idea," Chase muttered, "I've never heard of the man." The four sit and Chase glances at the menu, surprised that Davenport would take all of them to such a nice place. He had never done so before.

Soon everyone had ordered and Chase was observing the restaurant as he ate, taking in the people and the scenery.

_So this is life as a billionaire…,_ Chase thought as he saw all the people who flashed expensive clothes and ordered the finest of the restaurant. _What a strange thing…and I thought Davenport was egotistical…_

Chase turned his attention back to his table as he finished, and turned when he heard a clink. Adam was sitting down the table, and had knocked over his and Bree's (who was sitting next to him) drinks all over the table and himself.

"I made a mess Mr. Davenport," Adam said, forming the first sentence he had made since they had arrived. Davenport got up and Bree and Leo (who was on the other side of Adam) began cleaning up the mess.

"Come on Adam," Davenport said, getting Adam up and leading the boy to the restroom. Chase turned away from Adam and Davenport, and found his eyes looking over Dr. Ryan.

Dr. Ryan was tall like, though probably as tall as, Adam as far as Chase could tell, and had dark hair and light eyes. Chase heard whispers of the female waitresses who seemed to gush over the man, but Chase looked into the man's eyes, drawn into the depths of them. Dr. Ryan appeared to be looking straight through him, and there was something frightening there, but Chase couldn't grasp what it was. Chase had to look away and he shuddered at the coldness in the man's eyes. Tasha gave Chase a look, but the boy gestured he was fine.

Davenport returned with a cleaner Adam, but the tux was clearly ruined. Dr. Ryan stood up and handed Davenport and envelope. Davenport simply nodded and sat down again, announcing:

"I'll pay the bill Ryan," Davenport said. Chase looked at him, wondering why he would address Dr. Ryan by his last name.

_Unless Ryan is his first name…so why would he go by Dr. Ryan?_ Chase was brought out of his thoughts as a waitress took the bill and Dr. Ryan sat down again and spoke.

"Donald, I hope we can work together again," he started, "and that happened in the past is still there, and has been forgiven. Davenport just nods, but doesn't say anything. Chase looks down and twiddles his thumbs, wondering what had happened to make such a divide between them, but he doesn't ask anything. Before anyone else could, the waitress returned.

"Let's go…Goodbye Ryan," Davenport said, getting up and shaking Dr. Ryan's hand. Dr. Ryan nods and then departs. Adam yawns as Tasha leads him out and Leo followed as he texted on his phone.

_At least Leo was quiet…Wonder what he was doing…,_ Chase mused, a little suspicious of his brother's silence. Bree was texting too, as Chase saw out of the corner of his eye. The six came out to the parking lot and Leo finally spoke.

"Am I off my vow of silence?" he asked loudly, looking up.

"Leo…Not now," Tasha said, giving him a light smack on the arm. Davenport raised an eyebrow, but Tasha waved him off.

"It was a deal we made while you got the others…," she explained. Davenport shrugged and made his way to the car, the others following.

* * *

The car-ride home seemed much longer than the ride there, with everyone nearly falling asleep on each other. Tasha immediately sent Leo up to his room, and he didn't protest as he thumped up the stairs and Davenport sent the other three down to the lab.

Adam quickly left the elevator and climbed into his pod and immediately fell asleep, still in his ruined tux. Bree emerged more slowly out of the elevator as she texted someone. She sat down in one of the chairs and ignored everyone around her.

_Typical Bree…,_ Chase thought to himself as he went to move the mission bag. He noted that it was heavier than before and opened it.

The laptop! Chase had forgotten all about it. He quickly looked around and saw nobody watching, not even Eddy seemed to be lurking about, and opened it once more. He went and hid himself around the corner where he would be less conspicuous as he investigated what was on her. Chase then turned his attention on logging into the computer.

It took twenty-seven tries, but Chase finally found the right password and discovered the battery was beginning to run low. He quickly popped out his flash drive and stuck it in.

_This is too easy sometimes…,_ Chase thought as he grinned, basking the glory of the moment.

**A/N: A lot of people have been asking who the boy was, and here's my answer:**

**It's a secret.**

**I'm sure some of you enjoy hearing that (sarcasm), but it **_**will**_** eventually be revealed…It's just going to take a long time. One, there are quite a few chapters to be had before it begins to make sense with that and the other interludes (the boy will make his reappearance, don't worry about his being dead…yet XD) and two, I'm going to focus on **_**Mind Blown**_**for a while. This story won't be abandoned, but it won't be returned to until a later date.**

**Oh…and I achieved over two-thousand words, boo-yah! A new record!**

**So…Review please! I uploaded once I finished just for you guys!**


	3. The Paving of a New Road

**A/N: The next chapter in the saga of **_**Mother Dearest**_** that you have all been waiting for! Or so I assume anyway…Well, enough of this and onto to the story!**

Chase set the laptop aside as it died and went to Davenport's computer in the lab. He typed at it a bit and logged into a part of the computer he had kept hidden from even Davenport. It was mostly for things like this, so Chase could very easily hide things of a secretive nature from his family. Not that he did a lot of reading and procuring of secret documents that he shouldn't see. He only did it every so often, which is why this part of the computer had so far been unnoticed. He downloaded what was on his finger to the computer, but the screen flashed red and something about a virus popped up.

"No, no, no!" Chase shouted, pulling the flash drive finger out. The computer automatically wiped everything Chase had on that account of the computer and his finger burned as his bionics did the same with the information.

_Good thing I didn't open that before placing it on the computer…must be protected by a highly advanced virus of some sorts…_ Chase sighed, but he wasn't about to give up. He went and retrieved the computer, and then began constructing a makeshift charger so he could find out the secrets of the protected document he had found and why the owner had gone to such lengths to hide it.

_Not as easy as I thought it'd be…,_ Chase thought morosely as time stretched on and he finished the charger. He plugged it in and the computer immediately came to life. He began to deftly open and read everything he could find, but only one document was on there, the same that had been destroyed not an hour ago. Chase found it odd, but opened it.

It was simple page and all it had was an address that Chase quickly memorized and two names:

**Ryan and Adeline Megon.**

A married couple, or maybe even a brother and sister based on what Chase could guess from the little he got. He didn't recognize the names, but found it peculiar that after meeting Dr. Ryan he found a document on a man with a similar name. He decided not to dwell on it now and got up to go to his capsule.

"Go to bed Bree…," Chase said with a yawn when he noticed Bree was still texting away. _And never noticing a thing around her…girls…_

"Whatever," Bree said, not getting up as she continued texting whoever she was texting. Chase ignored her and drifted off to sleep in his tube with the sounds of her fingers tapping on the phone keyboard.

* * *

Chase yawned as he drowsily opened his eyes and looked around. Adam was snoring and Bree was twitching a bit in her sleep, but Chase got up of his tube after it automatically dressed him. He checked to see if they were still asleep; his movement had thankfully not disturbed either of his siblings. He went to the elevator and went up into the living room.

_Nobody's here…,_ Chase took a deep breath as the thoughts from last night came back, and he decided to go outside for some fresh air. Once outside, the sun nearly blinded him but the openness of the outdoors brought about some freeness to ponder on what he had learned.

_Who could those people be? And where's that- _Chase was interrupted in his thoughts. He had walked to the end of his driveway and someone had called his name. He turned to the source and saw Marcus.

"Marcus, I haven't seen you since my dad kicked you out…Sorry about that, by the way," Chase said, realizing he might strike some nerve or other. He gave a nervous smile and scratched the back of his neck.

"With my grandmother…It wasn't too bad, but I would have much preferred to have hung out with you and your family," Marcus respond with a shrug, "Other than Leo, of course." Chase nodded and continued walking, sticking his hands into his pockets. Marcus seemed very sincere, but Chase wasn't listening for any deceit.

After all, what could Marcus have to gain from lying to him?

"So what are you doing out so early on a Saturday?" Marcus asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Nothing particular…," Chase said, shrugging.

"Oh come on, there has to be a better reason," Marcus said with a laugh, teasing him so that it almost sounded like mockery.

"I'm just thinking," Chase said, "Nothing that important." Chase couldn't confide in his closest friend outside of his family, and it was simply because Marcus had no idea of their bionics.

"Why don't we go over to my house? It's better than just wandering around outside, I think," Marcus suggested, scratching the back of his neck this time in some sort of nervous anticipation.

"That sounds like a good idea, actually," Chase said, looking back and seeing they had already walked a bit from his house already.

"It's a walk from here, but we'll be there within a few minutes," Marcus said, "There's a shortcut nearby." Marcus walked away from the road and into the nearby tree line. Chase followed after him, stepping around the ever thickening bushes. It was odd that Marcus knew of this shortcut to their house, but Chase didn't question it. _Maybe he had found it during the times he wasn't with them,_ Chase thought, deciding not to bother with the idea that Marcus could randomly show up to their house without a car to announce him. Chase was soon beside Marcus as his thoughts left him and they stepped through the tree line into a secluded neighborhood in Mission Creek, not far from the school.

_Wait a minute…,_ Chase thought with a sharp intake of breath and stopping. He saw some road signs and realized that the address he had read was somewhere near here. Marcus continued on, apparently not having heard Chase. Chase quickly followed after him, deciding not to give Marcus a reason to question him.

"Home sweet home," Marcus said, throwing his arms open as they stopped in front of a house near the dead end of the neighborhood. Chase looked around, feeling his eyes grow wide.

_Here? Why would Marcus's house be in some stranger's computer?_ Marcus went up to the front door, rolling his eyes at Chase's hesitancy and opens it. Chase slowly followed him, alert for someone to pop up out of the bushes and attack them. Chase entered the house and thought it was oddly quiet, frowning as he noted this.

"Dad!" Marcus called, "I brought a friend over!" Chase heard footsteps coming down the stairs as he looked into the living room. The whole house was oddly clean, which he found strange for the home of a teenage boy and his presumably single father. Chase spun around and almost attacked Marcus after the latter tapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh…," Chase dumbly said before seeing the man before them. His mouth fell open even further as he saw a familiar man in much casual attire than he had seen before on him…It was Dr. Ryan, _in Marcus's house_.

"Shocked, I see," Dr. Ryan said with an almost mocking smile. Chase simply nodded, closing his mouth. Marcus seemed highly amused by his friend's reaction.

"This is my son, Marcus, as I'm sure you can tell. And yes, I do honestly know your father, Donald. We were colleagues, and friends, once, but a nasty…_spat_ drove us apart," Dr. Ryan informed Chase, seemingly trying to cover all the bases.

"What drove you apart?" Chase asked, his inquisitive mind already trying to figure out what could have caused such a rift that Davenport would have not mentioned Dr. Ryan before the previous night.

"Just ask about Adelaide, it'll get you the answers you desire, particularly about your mother," Dr. Ryan said very casually. Marcus gave his father an odd look, but Chase didn't notice as he was thinking over what Dr. Ryan said.

_Adelaide, that's the other…Wait, did he just say _mother_?_ Chase opened his mouth to speak further, but Dr. Ryan had wandered off.

_Where did he go? And is he the man who broke into the warehouse? What's going on, especially about my supposed mother?_

"Let's head back Chase," Marcus proposed suddenly, pulling Chase from his thoughts. He didn't seem perturbed by the conversation, and Chase decided not to mention anything. It was possible Marcus had answers, but then again maybe he didn't and was as clueless as Chase was at that moment.

Chase sighed and shook his head, his mind still trying to comprehend everything. What else about his and his siblings' lives were lies? First he finds out that they weren't created, but actually born…so what was next?

In an upstairs window, a hand pulled back a curtain. It was Dr. Ryan, and he took particular care to not be seen by the retreating forms. He watched as his son led Chase down the road and then into the tree line. He knew Chase would be back, because ultimately the questions would bring him back for the answers…though next time, Dr. Ryan hoped Chase would bring the others with him.


End file.
